“The two suggested avenues for my brain were nuclear physics and surgery,” he said. “I liked taking things apart and putting things together, I was mechanical.”

He decided to pursue biomedical engineering but that was but a brief detour from the path that led to his current role as chairman of the Department of Surgery at Inspira Healthcare Network where he has earned the respect of his colleagues.

If someone starting out on their medical career asked how they should conduct themselves as a physician, Dr. Frank DeMaio said, “I would say look at Dr. Montero-Pearson.”

His intelligence, honesty and devotion to the local hospital network during the past 25 years have earned him this year’s Physician of the Year title, DeMaio said.

One of the most prestigious awards bestowed upon an Inspira Health Network doctor, it is presented by the physician’s peers, DeMaio said.

Montero-Pearson, 68, will be toasted, and roasted, during a ceremony Wednesday at the Greenview Inn at Eastlyn Golf Course.

“Dr. Montero has contributed greatly to our health network and the communities we serve,” said John DiAngelo, president and CEO of the Inspira Health Network. “For more than two decades he has provided quality care to our patients while serving in leadership roles on the medical staff of our Elmer and Vineland hospitals.”

Born in Stamford, Conn., Montero-Pearson didn’t remain there long.

His father’s work took the family to South America.

Before Montero-Pearson turned 2, his family moved to Puerto Rico and about four years later, they relocated to Columbia.

A businessman, his father “spoke eight languages so he was very useful to a lot of the people,” Montero-Pearson said.

“I wish I had it,” he said, admiring his father’s foreign language flair and noting he only speaks three.

“I went to Villanova University, I wanted to be a biomedical engineer but that was boring,” he said. “So I switched and took the credits that I needed to go to medical school.”

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Per Montego-Pearson, M.D. F.A.C.S., will be honored as Inspira Health Network's Physician of the Year, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 at his office in Vineland.(Photo: Sean M. Fitzgerald/Staff Photographer)

When he graduated, his family was then living in Spain so Montero-Pearson enrolled in the Autonomous University of Madrid.

“I was looking into very esoteric specialties, like neurophysiology, but then I rotated through surgery,” he said.

That’s where he found his calling.

“I just loved being there, I loved being in the operating room,” he said. “I still have it today, it’s the buzz.”

To explain the feeling, Montero-Pearson recounted back when he was in medical school.

At the hospital, he said, there would be five, six, maybe even seven surgeries per night.

“I know 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, I didn’t have to be there, I just wanted to be there,” Montero-Pearson said. “The doctor came over and tapped me, I was sitting on the floor just out cold, and by the time it took me to walk here to there I was wide awake.”

“Dead asleep to fully ready to go in five paces,” he said. “That’s the ah-ha moment, this is what I wanted to do – I was hooked.”

There is still a sense of awe.

“It is the action of doing something physical and then you watch the patient get up and walk away,” he said. “It’s amazing what the body can do.”

When he completed his residency, Montero-Pearson joined the Navy.

“At that time, we were at peace but they were still looking for doctors — they were still trying to provide health care within the military system,” he said.

Montero-Pearson headed up general surgery departments in Okinawa, Japan, and then Charleston, S.C.

After leaving the Navy, he set up private practice in Mocksville, N.C., until he was recalled into service for Operation Desert Shield.

When his wife, Connie, faced a serious health issue, Montero-Pearson said he brought her home where she would have support from her family.

“My wife was born in Newcomb Hospital and went to Our Lady of Mercy Academy,” he said.

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Per Montego-Pearson, M.D. F.A.C.S., will be honored as Inspira Health Network's Physician of the Year, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 at his office in Vineland.(Photo: Sean M. Fitzgerald/Staff Photographer)

Montero-Pearson reached out to local surgical groups to find a new position and got an interview with Alfred Davies in Millville.

Upon meeting, Davies called in his son and it turned out Robert Davies and Montero-Pearson had rotated through St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia together. He remained a member of the practice from 1991 to 2006.

“I’m an old-fashioned general surgeon,” Montero-Pearson said. “I have done vascular, thoracic, intestinal and cancer surgeries. I did everything.”

He also mastered laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

While technology advances, Montero-Pearson maintains a traditional focus on developing a relationship with his patients.

“I’ve never believed that surgeons have to be cold-blooded and aloof,” he said. “Everyone has to remember we are physicians too.”

That’s something he tries to pass on now that he is a mentor to a new crop of medical residents at Inspira.

Becoming an instructor has taken some adjustment.

“It’s a different mindset for a surgeon when he begins to teach his craft,” Montero-Pearson said. “I can’t tell you how to do this, you have to watch.”

And when they are ready, he turns over the scalpel.

The best advice he offers is what was given to him when he was training.

“If you order a chest X-ray, you look at it; I don’t want you to read to the report, I want you to look at it. You need to look at your X-rays, you need to look at your labs,” he tells the residents.

“That is the strongest order I give them — if you ordered it, you damn well better know what the results are,” he said. “We learned to pay attention.”

During his career, Montero-Pearson has also taken note of support he’s received from those around him.

He plans to use the award as an opportunity to say thank you, including to his wife of 34 years.

“She makes me look so good,” he said.

There will be thanks to his children, David and Valentina.

He also plans to tell his colleagues as well as his staff how much he appreciates them helping him keep things running smoothly.

Montero-Pearson laughed and noted that career skill test he took in high school was correct in more than one category.